What Does It Take To Becoming A Psychiatrist

A medical doctor who treats mental problem and specializes in it is known to be a psychiatrist. People usually confuse psychiatrist with psychologists. There is a different between these two. A psychiatrist is more like a doctor who can prescribe medicines while a psychologist cannot do so. A psychiatrist does group and individual counseling and prescribe treatments if necessary.

The medical school will last for four years. The initial 2 years will involve much laboratory and classroom teaching in anatomy, physiology and pharmacology. The next 2 years will involve administered clinical experience. In this clinical experience, you will be able to learn to operate patients and carry out medical exams. After you have completed the medical school, you will have to take postdoctoral training that is of four years. The training has been conducted in residency a programs that include clinical practice that is paid.

Then the APA that is referred to American Psychiatric Association asks of a completion of 36 months training in the field of psychiatry apart from taking part in other fields like emergency care, internal medicine and family medicine.

You will have to pass the US medical licensing Examination to get a license to becoming a psychiatrist. To attain a license may change within states.

Job Outlook Of A Psychiatrist

The job outlook of a psychiatrist seems great and is expected to get greater. The quantity of people who have mental disorders has seen an increase in the past years. This means that more psychiatrists are needed now in order to serve the mental patients.

Where Do You Need To Work As A Psychiatrist

As a qualified psychiatrist you will be able to work at several places like schools, clinics and hospitals. You can also go for your own clinic where you can practice and diagnose mental patients. Opening your own clinic will require heavy investment and plus it will take time to be recognized among people.

How Can You Advance As A Psychiatrist

You can advance as a psychiatrist by opening your own clinic. This should be done once you have ample amount of experience, as mentioned above that it will take time for people to recognize you. You can also specialize in a specific area like child psychiatry, legal psychiatry or educational psychiatry.

What Would Be Your Work Environment

If you are working in some school or clinic, then your work environment will quiet and relaxed and you will be able to divide time between the practices and spend time for traveling. It is vital for you to note that as a psychiatrist, you might be asked to work for long durations and may be asked to work on holidays and weekends as well. Therefore, you have to sacrifice your leisure time if you have to be a psychiatrist.

Hence, this is all what it takes to be a psychiatrist. If you think you can do all the things mentioned above from education to job environment, then you can become a psychiatrist. The education is not easy, so you will have to pay full concentration in your medical school.